


The Power Within

by kalini127



Category: Winx Club
Genre: I took a few creative liberties here and there to spice things up, Multi, Winx club rewritten, but mostly it will follow canon as you know it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:47:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23267194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kalini127/pseuds/kalini127
Summary: Spite re-writing my favourite childhood cartoon for ya audience because the Netflix remake is just disappointing.I know there are plenty of fics like that, but I love all of them I wanted to try writing one of my own.
Relationships: Bloom/Sky (Winx Club), Brandon/Stella (Winx Club), Musa/Riven (Winx Club), Tecna/Timmy (Winx Club)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 24





	1. An Unexpected Event

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so I don't know how often I will be able to update, but I hope the wait between chapters won't be too long.  
> I aged the characters slightly up, as Alfea is often referred to as a college, so I thought why not make the characters slightly older.
> 
> \- updated chapter 01. July. 2020.

Bloom groaned as she turned in her bed, trying to ignore the annoying alarm on her bedside table, pressing a pillow to her ears. The golden sunbeams of the morning sun shone brightly through the blue curtains. Bloom had always hated that her window was facing east. Her mother thought it was nice that she could always wake up to the first-morning sun. But especially in summer, it was impossible to sleep in with the bright sun shining onto her face. Annoyed, Bloom turned to face the alarm she had set last night. She had promised her mother to help in the flower shop that she owned. That was something she usually liked doing, but today she felt like spending the entire day in her bed. She was dead tired.

“Bloom, it’s time to wake up!” her mom called while walking into her room. “You promised to help me in the shop today, or did you forget that already?” there was a disappointed look on her face that Bloom disliked. At that, she sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed and got up. “I know, I know. I just overslept. I am ready in a minute.” She quickly put on a pair of jeans, but she t-shirt she had meant to wear today had mysteriously disappeared.

“Maybe you should start going to bed earlier, then you wouldn’t have to worry about oversleeping the next morning.” Lectured her mother, who was standing in the middle of Bloom’s room now, arms crossed in front of her chest and a smile on her face.

“I had to finish my book…” she explained, barely audible as she pulled another t-shirt over her head. Her mom had busied herself cleaning Bloom’s messy room a bit and raised an eyebrow when she picked up the book that had fallen on the floor next to the bed. “A new book about fairies, huh?” Bloom shrugged. “The Library got it new in and I am the first to read it and it’s really good.” Bloom had always loved books about magic, and fairies were her favorite. “You know,” her mom started. “If fairies existed, they would probably tell you to go to bed earlier, too.” Bloom rolled her eyes. It would be amazing if fairies existed, but if they did then they most likely had more important matters to do than worry about her, a random human’s, sleeping schedule.

Just when Bloom was about to leave her room to break her fast, she noticed a movement out of the corner of her eye. The t-shirt she had originally planned on wearing was jumping straight towards her. “Kiko!” she called “What are you doing out here? I thought I had closed the door of your cage….” She caught herself. It was possible that she had only meant to do that. Whenever Bloom was reading a book she loved, it drew her in, then she forgot about everything outside the story. That happened a lot. When she fell in love with a book there was nothing she could think of but the story and its characters. And it was impossible to get her to do anything except reading. Opposite Bloom’s bed stood an overfilled bookshelf that was bounded to break under the pressure of so many books rather sooner than later. It held plenty of fantasy books, fairy tales, legends from all over the world, and a few romance novels here and there. As she had no love life of her own, she would read about it.

Bloom and her mother went to the kitchen for breakfast together, and Bloom left the door to her room wide open so that Kiko could follow if he wanted to. She had gotten the rabbit a few years prior for her birthday after she had begged her parents for a pet for months upon months. And after a long discussion about the responsibilities a pet meant, all had agreed on a rabbit.

“Good morning, sunshine!” her dad called when they walked into the kitchen. He was sat at the kitchen table and was reading the local newspaper. His firefighter jacket slung over the back of his chair.

“How long do you think you must work today?” Vanessa asked Mike, who was refilling her cup of coffee.

“About 5 I think, if nothing irregular happens.” Her dad countered. As a firefighter, his working times fluctuated a lot.

Bloom ate breakfast with her parents and drank her hot chocolate while looking through the window, daydreaming. Afterward, she decided to ride her bike to the park. She and her mom had agreed that Bloom would start helping in the flower shop tomorrow. Today the weather was too beautiful to spend the whole day inside. But only under the condition that Bloom would start cleaning her room when she got home today, which Bloom had reluctantly agreed on. Her room was a huge mess. Her mom liked so to say it looked like someone had let loose a bomb. Piles of clothes were scattered everywhere, her desk was covered in art supplies, and books that no longer fit onto the bookshelf were stacked across the floor. Bloom had to agree with her mother that her room was in desperate need of a complete washdown.

She packed her bag with a few snacks and placed Kiko in the bicycle basked that she had spent months’ worth of pocket money on. Although she sometimes felt a bit stupid for taking her pet rabbit everywhere she went, she never wanted to be without his company.

The cloudless sky was a striking cyan blue, and Bloom closed her eyes. She could feel the still cool morning air playing with her hair and breathed in the moment. She even dared to take both of her hands off the handlebar. If her father could see her now being so reckless, he would lecture her about the risks of driving a bike. ‘Always drive carefully, not too fast, and both hands on the handlebar!’ Bloom had to listen to this exact lecture every time she wanted to drive her bike. Sometimes her parents treated her like she was still a little child, despite that she was already 18 years old, and it annoyed her to no end.

She drove passed her mom’s flower shop, and the bakery that exuded a mouth-watering scent of fresh bread and a variety of baked goods, that made Bloom’s stomach growl. Even though she had just eaten breakfast. She greeted Mrs. Donavan. The old woman who had been Bloom’s nanny when she had been a child. She was currently busy watering the plants in her garden.

“Well, well,” a poisonous, all too familiar voice tore Bloom from her thoughts. Mizi, her former classmate and bully, stood next to a car that must have cost more than the apartment of Bloom’s parents. “Looks like you’ve been very…. conservative about the choice of your vehicle once again.” Mizi laughed scornfully at her own joke, and Bloom tried to stay calm. It was always the same with Mizi. She loved making fun of the little money Bloom’s family had. As the daughter of an extremely successful entrepreneur, Mizi’s family belonged to the richest ones of Gardenia. A fact she liked to rub into other people’s faces whenever she could.   
“Is there something you want, Mizi? I have places to be” Bloom lied. She had learned long ago that it was better to act as ifMizi’s insults didn’t hurt her. Maybe that way she would tire of them sooner or later.

“Oh yes, I’ve got one question, actually.” Mizi licked her lips and began walking towards Bloom. “Where are your friends?” a cruel smile appeared on her lips. “Ohh right, you don’t have any! My bad.” That hit deep. It was true, Bloom had no friends. Well, at least no human ones. She did count Kiko as a friend after all. There had been a few people at school that she got along with, and they sometimes talked during lunch break, but that was all there was to it. Those people had friend groups of their own, groups that Bloom didn’t fit into. Real friends, that she could confide her fears, problems, and secrets into, was not something she knew. And Bloom wouldn’t even be able to go to college at the end of this summer because her parents couldn’t afford it. And the little money she had earned as a barista during school breaks, didn’t even start to cover the needed amount. And Mizi would never let her hear the end of it.

Bloom turned her head so Mizi couldn’t see the tears beginning to fill her eyes and started to pedal hard. “I am running late,” Bloom called, as she was already leaving Mizi behind her. But the spiteful, victorious laugh would follow Bloom deep into the park.

\------

The park, which was decently sized for a small town like Gardenia, was unsurprisingly empty at this hour. Bloom and Kiko were the only visitors, as far as Bloom could tell. She leaned her bike to the trunk of a nearby tree and sat down under an ancient oak. The grass was soft, and Bloom took to her apple and flicked open a new book. She was lucky enough to let Kiko roam the park on his own, as he never detached himself far from her. That was indeed unusual for a rabbit, but Bloom wouldn’t complain when it made her life easier. The smell of nearby rose bushes was familiar and calming, and Bloom could feel herself relaxing while the sun shone through the canopy of the old oak tree, warming her face.

She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she heard was a deafening explosion. Kiko, who had fallen asleep on her lap, awoke shortly after. She heard another explosion, followed by bright orange lighting.

Bloom was certain that she must be dreaming because nothing unusual ever happened in Gardenia. In a trance she got to her feet and made her way towards the mysterious light, that kept flickering. On-off. On-off. Bloom tried to make out a pattern in the lightning, like an S.O.S. signal, but there was none. Deeper and deeper she followed the light into the park, her hackles raised. She could feel ice running down her spine.

‘This is just a dream’ she assured herself over and over again. ‘Nothing can hurt me in a dream.’, but it was no good. The queasy feeling inside her stomach wouldn’t go away, no matter what she told herself.

At last, she reached a clearing and couldn’t believe what she was seeing. On this opening, a girl around her age stood, no, flew. Her blonde hair was blowing in the wind, and thin, yet strong looking iridescent wings grew from her back. The orange outfit she wore looked like a mix of sports outfit and Halloween costume. The fabric glittering in an alien way that left Bloom speechless. The girl was wounded, and she was breathing hard. Bloom tried to make out who or what had attacked her, but she couldn’t see anything in the deep shadows of the opposite trees. The winged blonde flew fast forward, in her right hand an object Bloom hadn’t noticed before. It looked like a long blue staff, that seemed to glow from within, with an elaborate, sun-like shape on top. In its middle gleamed a golden gemstone that caught the light. It reminded Bloom of the scepters of wizards and fairies from stories long lost to time.

Now, Bloom was more than certain that she was in a dream, because the next moment bright lighting, that reminded her of firework, shot out of the blonde’s scepter. She had aimed into the shadows of the trees, and suddenly a humongous, yellow creature came raging out of it. The creature roared, and the girl attacked the brute with another blast of light.  
Then, to Bloom’s utter horror, the creature spoke. “Just give up girl, you’ve lost. You are wasting my time.” It was a deep, ferocious, male voice that sent shivers down her spine.

“You would like that, wouldn’t you, asshole?” the girl shot back, a grim, determined expression on her face. “Over my dead body will you ever get this scepter.”

“I am okay with that.” the monster replied and stormed towards the blonde while dodging every one of her attacks. With a shock, Bloom realized that the monster wasn’t alone.   
Several smaller, skinny, brown creatures with stick-like limps came crawling out of the shadows to attack the blonde girl. It was terribly obvious that she was outnumbered, but still, she kept fighting.

“Get you dirty claws off me, ghoul!” she called and kicked the smaller brown creature – a ghoul – straight towards the yellow giant. The impact caused him to stumble, and the girl used that moment to attack him with another powerful blast of light. The monster screamed in pain, and Bloom caught herself hoping that would mean the fight was soon to be won, just when another ghoul attacked the girl from behind. She screamed as the ghoul’s claws dug into her skin, fresh, dark blood running down her arms and legs.

Later, Bloom couldn’t remember how she ended up in the clearing. Just that in a blink of an eye she stood behind the girl, a thick tree branch in hand – when and how she picked it up, she couldn’t recall either. She swung the branch and hit the ghoul that had climbed on the blonde girl’s shoulder. The ugly creature went down with a loud ‘thumb’ and Bloom hit it again as it was lying on the ground. Just to make sure. The other girl turned; eyes wide open in surprise about the sudden help.

“Thank you for your help. That little bitch was about to claw my eyes out. Beware the ghouls, will you? And take care of the ogre. He doesn’t just smell bad but is also dangerous.” with a last urgent look she turned and hurried towards her scepter, which had fallen to the ground a few meters away. She attacked the yellow monster – the Ogre? – anew and Bloom tried to help her as much as she could, swinging her branch left and right at any ghoul that dared to come near her. Bloom heard the giant spitting out insults, and hoped the other girl had wounded him when an animal’s scream cut through the air. One of the ghouls had attacked Kiko, and she noticed a gaping wound on his right side. Bloom vaguely noticed the ringing in her ears before she saw red. She didn’t know how or why, but suddenly she found herself shooting energy balls out of her hands. The ghoul that had attacked Kiko screamed in pain as the flames ate away at its flesh. After a few seconds it was over and what had mere moments ago been an ugly ghoul, was now nothing more than a pile of ash.

Bloom ran towards Kiko to pick him up into the safety of her arms and pulverized one ghoul after the other. It was some kind of instinct that she had never felt before, that felt strangely right. The other girl let loose rays of light left and right, and soon the entire clearing was covered in ghoul dust. Bloom shuddered at the thought. She was amazed by the blonde’s fighting technique and followed her every movement. She did not notice when another ghoul crept up behind her. She screamed when the creature’s claws dug into her lower leg, taking part of her jeans with it. But this entire time she didn’t let go of Kiko. She pressed the rabbit closer to her chest as she stumbled. She would protect him whatever happened.

The winged girl came to her aid and attacked the ghoul with ray of light after ray of light, but the damn thing managed to dodge every strike.

“This is not the end!” she could hear the ogre calling to them. “I will get that damn scepter, even if I have to skin you alive first!” He clapped his hands together and with another burst of light, he and the few remaining ghouls were gone.

“I have to thank you,” the girl started. “I don’t know if I would have survived this fight without you. This piece of shit, Knut, caught me off guard.” Knut. Was that the yellow ogre? Did these things have names? Bloom didn’t dare ask. Now would be a great time to wake up. She’d had her adventure.

“I am Stella, by the way.” The girl said. And though this was a dream, Bloom felt the need to play along. “I am Bloom.”

“Ok Bloom, I must ask you something. Which planet are we on?” Bloom was dumbstruck. Which planet? She didn’t know how to reply. Clearly Stella had hit her head hard during the fight, before Bloom had arrived at the clearing. As far as one could be confused in a dream, that was.

“Earth, what else?” Bloom answered her and shifted from one foot to the other. She didn’t want to deal with a crazy girl, she wanted to wake up.

“Oh dammit!” she cursed. “That’s a lot farther away than I thought it would be.”

“Did you have to stopover here too?” Stella glanced around the park, but Bloom did not know what she was searching for.

“Stop…..over? I have idea what you mean. I live here.” Stella looked shocked, as she had expected every answer but this.

“But you are a fairy. You must be since you cast powerful magic, and there have been no fairies on earth for centuries.” Fairies. Sure. Her subconsciousness must still be busy processing the book she had read last night. A laugh swelled up in her throat.

“I am not a fairy, what the fuck?! That would be too good to be true. This is the weirdest dream I’ve ever had.” Stella’s eyebrows knitted together “You have no idea, do you?”

“No idea of what?”

“Well,” Stella started walking towards Bloom as she spoke, “First of all, this is not a dream. It’s reality, and you have magical powers, just like me.” Bloom didn’t know how to respond. It made no sense. This HAD to be a dream. Magic didn’t exist. Sure, she had always wished that it did, but that was a hopeless dream. But still…..could she hope? That once in her life, something amazing might happen to her? Bloom had long ago given up hope. She knew she would never get her Hogwarts letter or find a secret door to another world. But what if, after all the hoping a dreaming, now it was finally her turn to experience something extraordinary? But if this was no dream, but reality, then that meant…. “Oh my god, Kiko! I have to take him to a vet, fast!” Kiko was truly and terribly wounded, and she had no idea how to explain his unnatural claw marks to the vet.

“That won’t be necessary. Here, let me help you out.” Stella placed one hand on Kiko’s wound, and Bloom saw a golden light flowing out of her friend’s hand, right into Kiko’s small body. And in front of her eyes the wound started knitting itself back together. Bloom gasped.

“Wow” Where had been a gaping wound moments before, was now only soft, blue-grey fur.

Stella stumbled, and Bloom managed to catch her in time before she could fall to the ground. “Stella! What’s wrong?” Stella managed to stand on her own once more, and Bloom noticed that her wings, glittering top, and shorts had disappeared. Instead, she wore a floor-length, elaborate orange gown that looked like it belonged in a ballroom and not in the park of a small town.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about me, the fight exhausted me is all. A few hours of sleep and a meal and I am as good as new.” She smiled painfully, and Bloom doubted her words. The wounds all over Stella’s body looked grotesque in comparison to her elegant dress.

“You need a doctor.” Bloom made her way back to her bike and indicated Stella to follow her. “Or,….or can you heal yourself like you healed Kiko?” If Stella could heal herself using magic, it would make things a lot easier.

“Sadly no. Small animals are one thing, but humans are something else entirely. Way more complicated. It takes years to master healing other people, and very few fairies are able to master it in the first place. But don’t worry, fairies heal a lot faster. After a few days not even a scar should be left. And this,” she pointed to the wounds scattering her body, “is no big deal, trust me. It happens a lot.”

“A lot?” Bloom was horrified. She couldn’t believe that fairies, who had been described as such peace loving, soft creatures in all of her books, would get into fights. And that Stella dismissed it as no big deal was even worse.

“I know what you are thinking.” Stella had curiously been watching her out of the corner of her eye. “That must sound crazy to you, but for a fairy, it’s normal to get into a fight with a monster or a witch. It’s inevitable.” Bloom felt speechless. Witches? What else existed that she didn’t know of?

“Witches?”

“Oh yes. I will explain everything to you. You must be bursting with questions.” That much was true, and she couldn’t wait to get those answers.

Bloom placed Kiko into his familiar basked, and offered Stella to sit on the pannier rack, which she thankfully agreed to.

While the 3 of them were making their way back to Bloom’s apartment, Bloom caught herself hoping that her dad wouldn’t be home already. She had no idea how to explain Stella and the events of the day to him.

\------

After arriving at home, Bloom made a few sandwiches for Stella to eat and brought her some orange juice. Bloom tended to the wound on her leg, and afterward, both girls sat down in the living room to talk. While Stella ate, Bloom assailed her with questions, which Stella tried to answer as best as she could.

Apparently, she came from a planet called Solaria, which was just one of many planets in the magical dimension. It turned out that Stella was also the princess of Solaria, and Bloom was unable to hide her excitement. A real fairy princess. It was like in a fairy tale, but better. Furthermore, Stella explained the various colleges of the magical dimension, and apparently the three most renowned ones were located in Magix. To Bloom’s surprise, it turned out that there were not just colleges for fairies, but for witches and specialist as well. The latter didn’t mean anything to her, so she let Stella explain the term to her. A college called Red Fountain was a college attended by boys only, or heroes as they called it. On the other hand, the colleges for fairies and witches were attended by only girls.

“It’s scarce that boys are born with magical powers, that’s why different colleges are needed. But of course, a few male wizards still exist. The head minister of Red Fountain is a very powerful wizard for example.”

“Wow.” Bloom had never imagined that she would one day get to learn about schools in a magical dimension. “And what did you mean,” Bloom asked, remembering Stella’s earlier words. “When you said fairies getting into fights with witches and monsters is inevitable? Don’t fairies and witches get along?”

“Not all, unfortunately,” Stella explained, after finishing her last sandwich. “There is a mutual hatred between fairies and witches that has been going on for centuries. The witches of Cloud Tower made it their reasonability to harass the fairies of Alfea at any given time.” That didn’t sound too different from the high school life Bloom knew. It looked like there were bullies everywhere, even in a magical dimension. It would have been too good if there had been none.

Stella also explained that she had been on her way to Alfea, one of the three renowned colleges in Magix, when Knut, the ogre, had attacked her. At Alfea, young fairies studied for three years how to master their magical powers to reach their final fairy form. The orange top and shorts that Bloom had seen Stella in, was only the basic transformation that every fairy got once their powers manifested. Bloom got excited at the thought that she might have such a fairy form, with glitter outfit and wings, as well. Stella misread her reaction and said: “Don’t worry, all fairies reach their first fairy form sooner or later. After a few days at Alfea, you should have yours too.”

“Wait what? I am not going to Alfea, what are you talking about?”

“Of course you will. Why did you think I explained all this to you in such detail? You have extraordinary powers and Alfea is the best place to learn how to master and grow them.” Bloom was shocked. She hadn’t allowed herself to think any further. It was hard enough to accept that fairies really existed, let alone that she was supposed to be one as well. But Stella had assured her numerous times that she must a fairy, otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to perform the type of magic that had in the park. It was beyond her comprehension. It was just too much.

“But how is that supposed to work, Stella? You said fairies receive their basic education once their powers manifest, and the education at Alfea builds onto that basic knowledge. I don’t have any basic knowledge.” She would be years behind, once again an outsider. Bloom had never been a natural genius. It took a lot of studying and practicing for her to keep up with the material in school. It would be impossible to catch up on years of knowledge at Alfea.

“Bullshit.” Stella made a dismissive hand gesture. “It’s not as hard as you think it is, and I can help you. A bit of practice and you will be an amazing fairy.” Bloom doubted that, but was thankful for Stella’s offer, nonetheless. She wanted to go to Alfea and learn magic. It was exactly what she had wished for all of her life.

Stella yawned and Bloom checked the clock. With a shock, she noticed that she had drilled Stella with questions for hours, despite the fact that she was exhausted from the fight. And her friend hadn’t complained once and Bloom felt terrible for not noticing.

“You know what?” Bloom asked while getting up from the couch “You should take a nap while I think about everything. I need some time to process this new information.”

She heard Stella mutter an ‘I can sleep on the couch’ between several yawns but insisted that Stella would sleep in her bed. She would not let a fairy princess sleep on their old couch. Granted, the condition of her room was a bit embarrassing, but she brought this on herself, so she had to live with it now. And Bloom could still hope that Stella was too tired to notice the mess.

After Stella had fallen asleep, Bloom got to work. She tidied up her room and it helped her to collect her thought. She recalled everything that had happened earlier the day. Everything seemed so surreal, and she found herself waiting for the moment that would cause the bubble to blast. It felt impossible that she could be so lucky. Her childhood dream was about to become true. Fairies and magic really existed, and it turned out that Bloom had magical powers of her own. It was too good to be true. Of course, there still was the matter of her parents. Explaining everything to them would be one hell of an adventure, and Bloom had no idea where to start to make them believe her.

As time passed and the return of Bloom's parents was only turning into a matter of minutes, Bloom could feel her heart beating in her throat. After she had finished in her room, she hadn’t managed to do anything but zipping through the TV program without paying attention. She was still so abstracted by Alfea and Magix that she didn’t notice the front door opening.

“Bloom!” Vanessa called, and she jerked at the sound of another voice. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. What happened?” Mike joined them and he looked equally worried.

“Mom, dad,” Bloom started “something happened.” And at that, Bloom tried to explain everything that had happened during this day.

As expected, her parents reacted with great skepticism. “Bloom, really.” Mike shook his head. “Such things as fairies and magic don’t exist. That girl is clearly a fraud. Or maybe she hit her had really hard, who knows.” Vanessa placed a hand on his shoulder. “Mike, please. I think we should give this girl a listen before we judge her. Let’s not jump to conclusions.”

“Jump to conclusions? Vanessa, don’t tell me you are believing this nonsense!”

“You know just as well as I do that sometimes things happen that we don’t have answers for.” Bloom didn’t know what her mother was talking about and made a mental note to ask her about it later. Bloom’s dad, who knew that he had lost this fight, agreed reluctantly. They would consult Stella, who would then give them a small demonstration of her powers.

Bloom hurried up the stairs, taking two steps at a time, and was lucky enough to find Stella already wide awake in her room. She explained the situation, and Stella was more than happy to be the one to make Bloom’s parents believe in magic.

Mike and Vanessa were tensely waiting for the girls in the living room. Stella explained everything she had explained to Bloom earlier, and with every passing minute, more wrinkles appeared on the faces of her parents.

Mike managed to look confused and angry at the same time. Bloom feared that he would storm out of the room any moment. Of course, she had known that it would be harder to convince her dad than her mom. He was a realist, only believed in what he could see, and didn’t care for fairy tales or anything fantasy. He had never understood Bloom’s obsession with anything magical.

“Mr. and Mrs. Peters, Bloom’s powers are extraordinary, and Alfea is the best place to learn how to master them. It is extremely important for a fairy to learn how to control her powers. Because without the necessary knowledge, her powers will spiral out of control and she might hurt herself or others.”

“WHAT?” Bloom gasped. Stella hadn’t mentioned that.

“Sorry, I must have forgotten to mention it because I was so tired…” Stella’s face turned red and she smiled uncomfortably. Bloom wasn’t mad at her. How could she be? Stella had answered all of her questions without complaint. No, Bloom was scared. Scared she could hurt other people if she didn’t learn to control her powers.

“Enough of this nonsense!” Mike shook his head and got up. “I will call an ambulance. It’s terribly obvious that the girl received a blow to the head.” Stella narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, clearly offended by Mike’s accusation that she was nuts.

The parent in question had already picked up the phone and started dialing the number of the hospital when he was suddenly holden a carrot rather than the telephone receiver. Bloom gaped at Stella.

“Are you believing me now, oh great genius?” Stella was still sitting on the couch, arms crossed, and eyes fixed on Mike, a challenge in her eyes.

Mike shrieked and dropped the carrot like it had burned him. Vanessa had gone to him and was now talking to him a soft, low voice. What exactly they were talking about, Bloom didn’t know. Then Vanessa addressed Bloom and Stella. “Bloom, your father and I must talk privately for a minute, would you mind going to your room in the meantime?” Bloom didn’t dare disagree and let Stella to her room.

“Of course, we still have to enroll you in Alfea. And just like the universe wanted you to join, there is one free spot left.” Stella clapped her hands in excitement and Bloom felt a smile forming on her face. To have a friend getting so excited over going to the same school as you, was an unusual but welcome feeling.

“But first…” Stella made a few weird hand movements, and shortly after a brochure appeared out of thin air. “This,” she waved the brochure right into Bloom’s face, “is an interactive brochure. Extremely useful technology magic from Zenith. We have to jump into it and we get all the necessary information we need. Come on.” Stella placed the little piece of folded paper in the middle of Bloom’s room and took Bloom’s hand. “We have to stand around it, and don’t worry, the first time to travel into a brochure you could feel a dizzy, but it should fade soon after." The two of them held hands, the brochure in the middle between them. Bloom couldn’t begin to imagine how they were supposed to fit in there but trusted that Stella knew what she was doing. Stella mumbled something that sounded a bit like Latin to Bloom. A moment later the brochure grew, becoming big enough that both girls could easily stand on it. Then they started sinking into it. It was a bizarre feeling, like stepping on wet sand, but after a few seconds it was over and Bloom caught sight of a breathtakingly beautiful sandstone castle. On its walls vines in various colors were making their way to the top. The sight left her speechless.

The castle looked like it had come straight out of a fairy-tale. It was what a child’s dreams were made of, and Bloom hadn’t been surprised if Sleeping Beauty herself had walked out of the castle to greet them. She was about to go to school here. In her washed-out, ripped jeans and her old t-shirt she couldn’t have felt more out of place. While Stella, in her long, flowing dress, looked like she was at home here. Bloom could imagine fairies in their beautiful dresses walking through these halls, discussing the latest gossip and whatever hex they were going to try next.

“Welcome to the interactive brochure of Alfea. Here you will receive all information that you seek. About college places, eligibility criteria, requirements, scholarships, student quarters, application, and more. Please phrase your question as clearly as possible.” The voice seemed to come from everywhere at once, and Bloom couldn’t decide if the voice sounded more feminine or more masculine.

Because Bloom felt a bit awkward speaking to the air, Stella asked the questions for her instead. Bloom was incredibly grateful. While they listened to the answers of the electronic voice, they took a walk across the campus. It was huge. Much bigger than the school she went to on earth. But it made sense that a school with such an excellent reputation as Alfea would be more luxurious than a normal college.

“And how do we get back?” Bloom nervously scanned their surrounding in search of maybe a button that they had to press, or a door they could walk through.

“Simple,” Stella winked at her “We jump!” And at that, Stella jumped into the air, and Bloom noticed for the first time the hole that was hovering above them. Stella had jumped straight into it, and Bloom had no other choice than to follow if she didn’t want to get stuck in this weird intermediate space. She took a run-up and jumped as high as she could and got stuck. Her torso was back in her bedroom, but her legs were still dangling in the brochure. Stella doubled up with laughter and Bloom cloud feel the heat in her face.

After what felt like an eternity, Bloom, with the help of an ever laughing Stella, had managed to pull herself out of the brochure.

“So what do you think? Of Alfea?” Stella, who was currently seated on Bloom’s bed, asked curiously.

“It’s breath-taking. And you can really get me an application form? And a scholarship?” It sounded too good to be true.

“Sure, sure. I will have to talk to Faragonda, but I will explain your situation to her and I am certain she will comply. Your powers are remarkable, and there hasn’t been an earth fairy for centuries. She wouldn’t miss the chance to meet you.” Bloom blushed. Again. She couldn’t fathom that she was supposed to be something special. The first fairy from Earth in centuries. Surely there had to be a mistake.

“Just leave it all to me. I will also request for us to be accommodated in the same quarter. Being a princess has its perks.” Stella winked, and an earthshattering bang ruined the moment.

“What the fuck? That sounded like a wall was coming down.” A scream interrupted her. Her mother! Bloom dashed down the stairs as fast as she could, taking two at a time, Stella close behind her.

What they found in the kitchen shouldn’t have shocked her, not after today, but it did. Bloom’s parents were surrounded by dozens of ghouls. A huge, blue monster – it was even taller than Knut – crashed one piece of furniture after the other. Knut on the other hand was standing motionless within the room, waiting. Of course. He bust be waiting for THEM.

To Bloom’s horror, she noticed that he was holden the piece of her jeans that a ghoul had ripped of this morning. Just looking at it made her wound ache with new pain.

“Hey, shitface!” Stella called, and Bloom wondered if she was insane after all. To further provoke the ogre didn’t seem like a good idea. Stella charged forward and one blink later she was dressed in the familiar pair of glittering top and shorts. She kicked the nearest ghoul hard enough that splatters of blood landed on her polished orange boots. And then, in front of Bloom’s eyes, the ring on Stella’s hand transformed into an all to familiar scepter. Bloom had already begun to wonder where it had disappeared to but forgot to ask Stella about it.

Stella attacked Knut with a blast of light, and the beast flew straight through the kitchen window. The glass shattered around him and he landed with a loud grunt. And Bloom wondered how she would explain all that noise to her neighbors. Or maybe someone had called the police already.

Bloom tried to lead the ghouls away from Stella, who was currently fighting the humongous blue thing. Armed with a frying pan, Bloom struck down every ghoul near her, while screaming at her parents to run. Mike and Vanessa’s indecision was plainly obvious. One part of them wanted to run for cover, and the other part wanted to stay and make sure Bloom was safe. At last, Bloom’s pleading expression convinced them to leave. Stella was a fairy and knew what she was doing. She could protect Bloom way batter than they could at this moment.

Bloom was certain that she had earned a few ugly scars. A few ghouls had managed to draw blood, and to escape another lot she had to jump over furniture and hit the ground in the least graceful way possible. The bruises were going to be staggering.

Knut had recovered from his flight through the window and was now attacking Stella. Now the blonde had to fight Knut and the troll simultaneously, and Bloom could see fresh blood on her forehead. It was running down her hair and colored her golden locks a terrible blood red.

Stella kicked the troll, and he stumbled back. She used the opening to attack Knut with another blast of light, and this time he smashed the front door instead. Bloom couldn’t believe that nobody had heard all that noise. A spell maybe? The Smith’s next-door already complained when Bloom turned up the volume of the TV beyond their liking.

The troll or Knut had assembled the ghouls and now they were attacking Stella rather than Bloom. She was outnumbered and Bloom didn’t know how to help her friend. She couldn’t summon the same power that she had in the park. She felt useless.

Right now, Stella was so occupied keeping off the ghouls, that she didn’t notice the troll sneaking up on her. He picked her up like she was a mere insect and tossed her through the broken kitchen window. Bloom didn’t waste any time and hurried to check on her friend, who had landed amid the broken glass. She was bleeding stronger than before and Bloom couldn’t imagine that all these wounds could heal without any help, magic or not.

She was helping Stella get back up when the troll came flying through the door.

“That was about time.” She heard Stella say. Bloom was about to ask what she meant as three boys about her eyes stormed through the door. They were all wearing identical marine blue uniforms and a cape, that looked fantasy movie-worthy, was slung over each their shoulders.

Stella had told Bloom enough that it only took her a few seconds to guess that these must be guys from Red Fountain.  
The first had hair so black that it shone purple, in his hand a weapon that vaguely reminded bloom of a whip. It was currently wrapped around the troll’s neck. “Well, this is what I call an exciting night.” He said, an arrogant smile on his face.

The brunette guy coughed at that. “You know, I’d worry about that if I were you, Riven.” A broad, green sword gleamed in his hand, a bored expression on his face. The black-haired one – Riven – made a vulgar gesture in his direction but didn’t take his eyes off the troll. The third one, a blonde, was currently fighting a group of ghouls, a similar blade to the brunette’s in his hand. Except his was a bit thinner and shone bright blue. He cut down one ghoul after the other. Bloom followed his every movement and he must have noticed her staring because moments later their eyes met. Bloom could feel the heat in her face and the boy smiled mischievous, which only caused her to blush harder. She was sure that her face had reached the same shade of red as her hair.

The brunette was fighting against Knut, and while it looked to Bloom like he was winning, Stella raced into his direction, dragging Bloom along.

“Alright Bloom. Try to recall what you did in the park and do it again.” Stella leveled her scepter in Knut’s direction and Bloom stretched out her arm, palm towards Knut. And indeed, a small blast of energy emerged from her palm and hit Knut’s thick, hairy back. The ogre howled and Stella stepped in to finish him off. A powerful blast of light hit him, and Bloom watched the monster flying across the street. He didn’t get up again.

Bloom was proud of herself that she had managed to summon enough magic to wound an ogre.  
Meanwhile, the specialists had managed to tie up the troll with what looked like shackles of pure energy.

“Ugh, that thing stinks.” She heard Riven mutter.

“Maybe he thinks the same about you.” The Brunette shot back with a laugh, and Riven again only answered with a rude gesture but smiling.

“Okay Timmy, it’s your turn.” The blonde one called, and only moments later a huge, futuristic-looking plane appeared above the group. Bloom could feel her stomach drop. It looked like it came straight out of Sci-fi movie. The plane was shaped like an arrowhead, and its read paint gleamed in the moonlight. Okay, if nobody noticed THAT, she would give up.

A hatch opened, letting out a bright yellow light. Riven pushed the troll into the pillar of light and the troll floated upwards until it disappeared inside the plane.

“Now to our yellow friend,” the brunette said. “Well fuck…” Bloom turned around and understood at once what he meant. Fuck, indeed. Knut was no longer lying where she had last seen him. He must have pretended to be out cold and gotten up when everyone had been occupied with the troll.

“Well,” Stella stepped forward, taking in the now empty spot. “We don't need to mention that he escaped, do we?” Everyone agreed to that, and Bloom learned that the specialists had to write a report of every mission. They just wouldn’t mention Knut’s involvement.

Her heartbeat calmed down and Bloom had time to process what had happened. She had fought an ogre, a troll, and their ghoul army. Her house was destroyed but she had somehow managed to survive with a few scratches and bruises. Her legs had turned to jelly and she only managed to stand upright just so.

“Bloom,” Stella’s voice pulled her out of her trance. “Now that everything’s over, let me introduce you to Prince Sky” she pointed at the brunette.

“Hi!”

“Brandon,” the blonde.

“Hi, what’s up?”

“and Riven.” she gestured to the black-haired one. Riven only let out a ‘hmmp’ and Bloom wondered what was wrong with him. She didn’t do anything, why must he be so unfriendly?

“Oh and Timmy is up there flying the plane, so you can’t see him but don’t worry, you will meet him at some point.” Stella kept talking and explained to the boys all that had happened today, and why Knut and his minions were on Earth in the first place. Even though lessons would only start in a few days, many had already returned to their dorms to get settled, which was why the boys had already been at Red Fountain.

Stella also explained that college at Red Fountain was four years long instead of the three of Alfea and Cloud Tower. They started classes one year earlier than the other two and Stella knew them from last year when she had started her first year too.

“Wait what? But when you already finished your first year, then you won’t be in the same year as I.” She didn’t know if she could take attending a college in a magical dimension without at least one person she knew for support. The whole thing scared her as it was, but without Stella by her side, she would be lost.

“Actually, no. I have to retake my first year because of an…. incident that happened last year.” Stella wouldn’t meet her eyes and Bloom made a mental note to ask Stella later about what kind of incident they were talking about.

"Phew, you got me worried there for a second, Stel." Bloom said.

“We should go look for your parents now.” Stella had turned to Bloom, who agreed with a nod. Her parents would be sick with worry.

“You have to go already?” Sky asked, trying to sound casual.

“Unfortunately, yes, there is a lot of work left for us.” A sad smile appeared on Stella’s face.

“Well, I think we should head back too,” Brandon suggested. “But I hope to see you at Alfea, Bloom!” he winked at her before he turned on his heel and made his way back to the plane, that had landed in the street.

Stella watched Sky leave with a longing look in her amber eyes. Bloom had to hide a smile and the girls waved the boys goodbye before starting the search for Bloom’s parents.  
Luckily, those had gotten in the car, Kiko in tow, and driven to the next block. Mike and Vanessa were overjoyed to see Bloom and Stella returning in one piece and pulled the girls into a group hug. Their skepticism about Stella was now nothing more than a bad memory, and Bloom had to thank Knut for that. It felt like a joke.

“And Bloom can study there, just like that?” Vanessa asked, and the doubt in her voice didn’t go unnoticed.  
“I will get her an application form and I will talk to the headmistress about a scholarship.” Stella countered, determination gleaming in her eyes. Bloom could only hope that one day she would be at least half as confident as Stella.

“We must thank you, Stella.” Mike started. “How are we ever supposed to repay this favor?”

“You don't need to repay me anything, please. And you don’t have to thank me. Everyone would have done the same.” Bloom doubted that. The people in her world weren’t as obliging.  
After Stella had reassured all of Mike and Vanessa’s fears, she had offered to help tidy up the house with a spell, and Bloom’s parents had partly agreed. Again Stella mumbled those words that reminded Bloom of Latin, and the door as well the window recomposed itself as if the troll and Knut had never entered. Bloom’s parents insisted on cleaning up the rest themselves, and Stella left for Magix with a promise to return soon.


	2. Welcome to Magix!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day at Alfea, meeting the Winx and first encounter with the Trix.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy, this took forever. I am so sorry. This chapter has lots of worldbuilding. I am trying to fill in plot holes and give a little more insight into the other girls' lives, not just Bloom.  
> Constructive criticism is always welcome, especially as English is not my first language. But only CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, please. Comments like 'this is shit' are not helping.

Stella returned the next day with an application form in hand and a smile on the face.

“I did it!” she ran towards Bloom to embrace her in a tight hug. “You are now an official resident at Alfea College for Fairies! Here is your application form and the confirmation for your scholarship.” Bloom beamed with joy. “Faragonda can’t wait to meet you. Now pack your bags, we will leave tomorrow morning!”

The rest of the day was spent by Bloom and Stella packing Bloom’s bags.

“Bloom?” Vanessa stuck here head through the door to Bloom’s bedroom. “You must promise to call us every evening. You are going to a place we can’t follow, and your father and I are already worried sick. We won’t be able to come to get you if you need us and….” She fell silent. Bloom’s stomach tensed. She had never been away from home for long, and now she would be gone a whole semester. She took a deep breath and closed her last suitcase. “I promise, mum.”

Seconds later Mike stuck his head into Bloom’s room. “When will we leave?”

“We?” Bloom replied, shocked.

“But of course. Did you think we would let you travel alone to a whole different dimension? And to be honest, I am curious about this Alfea.” That Bloom did not expect. She had assumed that she would leave her parents here at their house come tomorrow.

“Stella, is this all right?” Asked Bloom hopeful.

“Well, to be honest, that’s against the rules. But what’s the saying? Rules were made to be broken!” Stella winked at Bloom and Bloom had to smile. She didn’t want to get Stella into trouble, but she didn’t want to leave her parents sooner than she had to, either. And she had to admit that she also wanted to see her father's face when he saw Alfea for the first time.

“We will leave tomorrow morning, then we should arrive before the storm and I can show you around.” Stella grinned while letting her eyes wander over Bloom’s packed suitcases.

\------

Dawn descended on gardenia and turned the sky into a play of colors of orange, yellow, red, pink and purple. Bloom loved the scent of summer evenings, the chirping of crickets, and the pleasant, fresh breeze, that was a welcome change to the heat of the day. When Bloom had decided to take an evening walk, Stella had decided to join her. Afterward, Stella would return to Solaria. 

“I don’t think that I will be able to fall asleep tonight. I am way too nervous.” Confessed Bloom as the two girls turned into a side road where the houses as well as the corresponding gardens became bigger and more and more luxurious. They had already walked through all of Gardenia and were now entering the eastern end of the small town. It was beautiful here.

“But there is no reason! Everything is arranged and well, and I can promise you that you will love Alfea. Especially considering you and I will be roommates!” Stella winked and burst into beautiful, bright laughter. Bloom joined in, which only caused Stella to laugh harder, and for a few minutes, the two girls couldn’t stop laughing.

“Oh and by the way, I have one more question….” Bloom had thought about it for a while without saying anything because she didn’t want to annoy Stella with too many questions, but there were too many possible answers. “How can it be that we understand each other? I mean, on earth alone, we have multiple languages, so how can it be that a fairy from a different dimension speaks the same language?”

“Oh!” Stella laughed! “That’s a spell. It’s mainly used by royalty and others who must travel between planets a lot.” So Bloom’s assumption hadn’t been too far off then.

“When I landed, I had no idea where I was and cast the spell intuitively. With it, I can understand everyone, and they will understand me in their mother tongue.” Bloom could hardly imagine how many different planets and language there must be in the magical dimension. Of course, Stella had told her the names of the most important ones, but most names she had already forgotten.

“Of course the spell must be cast anew daily, which can be a bit annoying. Especially when you are staying in Magix City, a melting pot for people of all different planets and languages.” Bloom had tried to imagine Magix City numerous times, but each time it looked different. Once there were dragons flying around. Fairies in elaborate garments – similar to what Stella had worn the first time they met - riding unicorns along streets filled with potion and poison shops. Another time she imagined it to look like a futuristic utopia.

“Hey Bloom!” a familiar, penetrable, poisonous voice disturbed the girls and Bloom became wide awake and knew which street they had walked into. Mizi’s street. But of course.

“Are you here to look at what having friends looks like and want to know what normal people are doing in their free time?” Mizi strut in a beautiful red sundress along the cobbled path that led around the Victorian estate. Rows of small rose bushes, that merely reached Bloom’s hip, fenced the compound. Past the villa Bloom could see the backyard, where seemed to be happening a barbecue right now. She recognized several of her classmates – well, ex-classmates as they had all graduated this year – but a few faces she couldn’t pinpoint. This wasn’t surprising at all because Bloom knew Mitzi had friends from other schools too. Mitzi’s nose wrinkled. “Your hair looks like a dead fox again. Just how the fuck are you managing that? You have the ugliest hair I have ever seen.” Bloom absently reached for her hair. He red curls were always slightly messy and hard to tame, which was why she gave up trying to put it into any hairstyles except a ponytail. But today she wore it all down, and the evening breeze hadn’t been friendly to it.

“And you’ve got an ugly personality!” Bloom turned her head, shocked. For a moment she had completely forgotten that Stella was standing next to her.

“I beg your pardon?!” And as it looked like, Mitzi hadn’t noticed Stella before, either. She gave Stella a once over. Today her friend was wearing a white lace blouse and dark skinny jeans that brought her toned legs to attention. Her golden hair hung in silky waves down to her waist.

“Who the fuck do you think you are that you can talk to me like that…” Mitzi’s eyes shot daggers at Stella who took a few steps forward.

Stella cocked her head and gave Mitzi a half smile. “You know, I know people like you just too well. People who are unhappy with their lives and have to run others down to feel better about themselves. There are unfortunately tons of you out there. What is it for you? Complexes? Didn’t your parents tell you how proud they are of you often enough? Didn’t you get enough praise for your good grades and achievements? Did you get your heart broken? Anyway…” Stella had to slow down to take a breath. “You are not the only one with problems, so grow the fuck up. Bashing other people for it is pathetic.” Bloom was speechless. She had never seen anyone talk to Mitzi like that. No one had dared to. And the fact that Stella had done it to defend her? She had only known this girl for two days, and already she was to Bloom the best friend she ever had.

Mitzi’s face had gone completely blank during Stella’s speech and starred, mouth wide open, at the two girls in front of her. Bloom fought back the urge to pull out her phone and take a picture. She had never seen Mitzi so shocked. She had to bite the inside of her cheeks so she wouldn’t start laughing hysterically.

“Umn…Mitzi, Stella. Stella Mitzi. It was good to see you Mitzi, but Stella and I have important matters to discuss. So if you may excuse us….” Bloom pulled Stella, who was still starring Mitzi into lock, stock and barrel, along but as soon as they were out of earshot Bloom burst into laughter. “That..” she pointed at the direction of Mitzi’s villa “Was incredible. I don’t even know what to say except thank you. You really saved me there.”

“Oh, no big deal. I know enough people like that from court. Who was this girl again?”

“My ex-classmate that I went to high school with. She used to pull things like that every day, so this wasn’t anything special.” It always made her uncomfortable to discuss Mitzi’s bullying. Even to her parents she barely spoke about it.

Stella nodded absently. “I understand. But Bloom? I do not know you for very long, and I am not judging you, but you should really learn to stand up for yourself. You cannot let others treat you like that, okay? You are worth way more than that.” Bloom could feel the tears beginning to fill her eyes. Of course, her parents had said similar things to her, but it was different hearing it from someone who wasn’t a family member. She had truly found a friend in Stella and she really would study magic at a college for fairies. Her life had taken a great turn. Things could only get better if she could see Brandon again, but he had probably already forgotten about her.

\----

On the next day, Stella arrived right after breakfast. Bloom had barely been able to eat anything, she was that excited. Stella had asked Bloom and her parents to stand in a close circle around her. Then she raised her scepter and cast the portal spell.

For a few heartbeats, the group stood in some kind of intermediate space. Countless colors swirled around them, illuminating them. There was no up nor down. When Bloom opened her mouth to ask Stella where the ever-loving heck they were, she noticed with a shock that no sound came out of her mouth. There was absolutely no sound, which Bloom found immensely terrifying. She couldn’t even hear her own breathing. But a few seconds later everything was over, and she landed with pressure on her chest on soft grass. Alfea enthroned on a hill before them. They made it.

“What the hell was THAT?” panted Bloom, still too shocked from this…..place. A quick glance at her parents told her that they felt similar. Mike and Vanessa both looked like they had seen a ghost. All color had drained from their faces.

“We only call it the intermediate space. You only get to stay in it for a short period of time, with the time depending on how far you are teleporting. Sadly that can’t be done in the blink of an eye. What did you think how Knut attacked me? I was in the intermediate space when one of his spells caused it to collapse and it spit me out on Earth instead.” That made…sense.

“And why can’t you talk in there?”

“I don’t know. There is probably an explanation, but I don’t really care. It’s not important, is it? It’s just the way it is and it’s for a short time anyway, so.” Bloom had to admit that Stella was right about that. The princess really had her priorities set straight.

Bloom turned around and the sight left her speechless. The sun stood high in a cloudless sky and illuminated the dusty pink sandstone castle with its blue roof tiles and gave the impression that it was glowing. Even from a distance, Bloom could make out dozens, if not hundreds of people on the campus.

“Wow,” whispered her mother.

“Incredible, it truly exists.” Murmured Mike while he took a few steps forward. Stella rolled her eyes. Did this man still have doubts about Magic after her demonstration of power? She sighed. Some people….

Bloom’s dad stepped forward once more and…..was catapulted back several meters. He landed on his back with a loud ‘thumb’ and held his head.

“Mike!” Vanessa screamed and ran to her husband.

“Dad!”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” He picked himself with some help from Vanessa back up.

“Stella, what the hell was that?” demanded Bloom. If her parents got hurt, it had gone too far. She could not bear the thought of them in pain.

Stella bit her lip. “That’s a protective shield that prevents non-magical creatures to walk into Alfea. I am sorry, I completely forgot its existence.” She turned to Mike and Vanessa. “I guess it’s time to say goodbye for you. Even I can’t get you past the barrier.” Vanessa wore a defeated expression. So here she would say goodbye to her only child. She had hoped to spend a little more time with Bloom. Maybe talk to her new headmistress to get a better impression of this school, but it looked like that wasn’t possible.

“Mom, dad…” Bloom walked over to her parents, Kiko in her arms. It was time. She would have to say goodbye to her parents for several months.

“Bloom, darling. It’s okay. Everything is going to be alright. Your father and I know you will do great in your studies.” Vanessa drew her daughter in a tight hug before she stepped back to let Mike have his goodbye with their daughter.

“We are very proud of you, Bloom! And remember, even though it’s a magical college, it’s still college! So enjoy your time!” he hugged her tight before he positioned himself next to Vanessa, where Stella was already waiting with her scepter in hand.

“On to the second round it is!” Stella tried to sound as cheery as possible. “No worries, it will be as quick and safe as if I was with you. You won’t grow a second head or so.” Bloom caught a quick glance of her parent’s panicked faces before they disappeared in a flash of golden light. Stella turned with a keen expression her attention back on Bloom.

“Are you ready?” Stella couldn’t wait for the new semester to start. She loved Alfea. And this year there would be no incident. Her magic pulsed in her veins at the thought of casting powerful magic. She loved using her powers, and if she didn’t use them for a time, or only used a small amount, she became restless. And of course, that she would soon see Sky for the ball to mark the beginning of the new year, was a plus too.

Bloom took a deep breath. There was no going back now. She nodded, eyes closed, and tried to calm her rapid heartbeat. What would the other fairies think of her, an earthling? Would she manage to catch up on all the general knowledge fairies learned as soon as their powers manifested, or would she fail horribly? She didn’t know anything save for the few things Stella had explained in her crash course. But Bloom still had so, so many questions. Stella seemed to know what Bloom was thinking because she tried to appease her.

“Don’t worry Bloom. Everything will be fine, and I am always at your service if you have any questions. You will learn everything you need to know in time. And I promise you it’s not as much as you think it is.” Stella made a gesture and their suitcases lined up behind them.

“You are lucky that you are not a princess.” They made their way up the hill, and every step took Bloom closer and closer to Alfea. “Princesses must know more than ordinary fairies. I always have to remember who hates who, which families have how much influence on which planet. What the agriculture of every planet looks like, the trade between them, alliances, and so on. In parts extremely boring stuff, but that’s the life I was born into, so there is nothing to be done about it.” Stella said these words with a sad undertone that was barely noticeable.

“Oh wow. I am very happy that I am no princess then. The basic school stuff is enough for me, thank you very much.”

\----

The vine crested, silver cast iron gates were flung wide open and Bloom felt very small walking through. Even though Stella had wanted to arrive before the big press of people, many students seemed to have had the same idea. The campus was packed with students. There were fairies everywhere. Hugs were shared and news were exchanged by students that knew each other from previous years, and suitcases flew around everywhere. A few times Bloom had to duck to avoid a lost suitcase slamming into her face. Stella walked her over to a short line of students. A tall woman in her 50's with sharp cheekbones, a tight bun, and glasses stood at the end of it. A clipboard in her hand.

"That's our Deputy Headmistress and Head of Discipline, Griselda. She's very strict, so don't let her catch if you ever want to sneak out at night."

"Why would I..."

"We have to give her our names. Only if she casts our names free from the list the castle will let us in." Explained Stella while they were waiting.

"That the castle will let us...in?Don't tell me it has a personality of its own." Bloom laughed nervously. She didn't like the idea of a living castle. At all.

"By the great Dargon, no!" Stella reassured her."That's just a protective shield, similar to the one around Alfea that won't let non-magical creatures through. Just a precaution." That did make sense. Bloom thought about the witches Stella had told her about, who liked to wreak havoc wherever they could. 

Stella felt twitchy the closer they got to Griselda. Of course, she knew what Griselda thought of her. And of course, she knew what many students thought about her incident last year. And of course, it made her uncomfortable, even if she didn't let it show. All hail her training at court and how fast she had to learn to hide her true feelings. She barely noticed the nefarious glances they gave her. Barely.

"Princess Stella Coronima of Solaria! So you do honor us with your presence for another year. Now let's check where you will be staying this year..." her index finger scrolled down the list on her clipboard, before coming to a stop next to Stella's name. "Well, well. Quarter WX, just like last year." Griselda made a quick hand gesture and waved Stella through, before turning her attention to Bloom.

"And what's your name young lady?" Her intense grey eyes looked directly at Bloom, and Bloom thought it creepy just how long this woman could spend without blinking. 

"I...umn...My name is Bloom Peters and I am from Earth." Griselda's eyes widened. 

"Ahh Bloom, yes. We've been desperately waiting for you. Your appearance has caused lots of fuss. You must know, we haven't had a fairy form Earth in centuries.I am honored to welcome you to Alfea." Bloom looked at her shoes. She didn't want Griselda to see how uncomfortable this made her. 

"And umn...what quarters am I assigned?" Stella had promised her that they would stay in the same quarters. If this hadn't worked out...

"Ahh, yes. Quarter WX, just like Princess Stella, like requested." She made the same hand gesture as she had moments before waving Bloom through, too.

The first obstacle was managed, and Bloom let out a long breath. Stella was right. This woman was terrifying.  
"I was right, wasn't I?" Stella beamed. "No reason to worry."

They made their way to the foyer of the castle, and BLoom followed Stella around like a dog. She didn't want to get lost among all these first semester students. Bloom took them all in. All these girls were fairies, but they didn't differ from the 18-year-old girls on earth. There were short girls, tall girls. Skinny girls, curvy girls. Some had their hair dyed in bright colors, but most of them looked completely normal. It shouldn't have surprised her because Stella looked completely normal too. Except for the wings she had in her fairy form, that was. Griselda had magicked the suitcases into the girl's assigned rooms, which was why Bloom didn't have to worry about getting hit in the face by a bag.

After hundreds of first semester girls had gathered in the foyer, an elegant lady with white hair descended the stairwell. 

"That's headmistress Faragonda," Stella whispered. "She will hold her welcome speech now."

"Welcome girls. Welcome to Alfea! The best college for Faries in the magical dimension." Faragonda's voice was soft yet strong.   
Imperious, yes. But not as frightening as Griselda's. 

"This school will be your home for the next three years. I hope you enjoy it." Her eyes wandered over the crowd, and Bloom could swear that they caught her a few seconds longer than anyone else.

"You all chose to study at Alfea College for Fairies because you are determined. You want to make a change in the world, and you all want to learn how to reach your final fairy form. And I am convinced that you will all achieve this goal." Bloom could hear a few 'yeahhh' and 'damn right's before Faragonda continued. "Of course there are rules. Lessons start at 8, and breakfast will be available from 7-9 in the dining hall. Lunch break is from 12 - 1 pm, and curfew begins at 11 pm. Even though you are all of age, the school holds responsibility for its students. And please, beware of the witches of Cloud Tower." Stella mimicked the last sentence with dripping sarcasm while Faragond passed the microphone on to another teacher to introduce themselves. 

Bloom squealed when an Elf introduced himself as professor Palladium. A real Elf, with long, flowing hair and pointy ears. Stella explained that his species came from a planet called Anizar, and that there weren't many of them.

Another professor introduced himself as professor Wizgiz. He was a Leprechaun, with pale green skin and an emerald green velvet hat on his orange curls. They weren't a natural red like Bloom's, but true, bright orange. Professor Wizgiz would teach them metamorphosis. 

More teachers introduced themselves and Bloom tried her best to remember each name. When the introduction was over, it was time for the girls to find their rooms. Bloom was nervous and picked at her cuticles the whole time.

Because Stelle knew the way to quarter WX from last year, they didn't have to ask for a magical map of the castle. The corridors were bright and light-flooded. Welcoming. 

A room distribution list hung at the outer door to quarter WX.

-Room 1: Bloom Peters & Flora Abeliek  
-Room 2: Princess Stella Coronima of Solaria  
-Room 3: Musa Xarat & Tecna Tazalyn

"Do you know any of those girls?" Bloom nodded towards the list.

"Nope! I have never heard any of those names before. But I have my single room just like last year so YAY!" Stella pulled the door open and revealed the living room that lay behind. The room was designed in bright, friendly colors like the rest of Alfea, and equipped with an incredibly soft-looking sofa, two matching armchairs, a small couch table, and a tv on the wall. A fluffy white carpet completed the picture.

Bloom took everything in and noticed that the three doors had numbers carved into them. 1,2,3. Vaguely Bloom registered the fourth door with an engraved bathtub before she made her way over to door #1. Her room. The bedroom was designed in similar colors to the living room, and two identical sets of furniture stood in it. Bed, bedside table, closet, dresser, desk. Because Bloom was the first to arrive, she chose the set closer to the window. She placed Kiko's basked next to her bed and put the rabbit into it. Stella had assured her that pets were no problem.

Bloom had just started to unpack when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in!" She stopped dead when she saw Griselda walking into her room. 

"Bloom, headmistress Faragonda wants to speak to you." Bloom's heart skipped a beat. This couldn't mean anything good. Had something gone wrong after all? Did they doubt that she was a fairy? That she belonged here?

"I...of course." stammered Bloom and put the blouse she was still holding on her bed. When she followed the head of discipline out of the door, she caught a quick glance at Stella, who shot her a panicked expression.

\---

Faragonda's office was located in one of Alfea's towers, and as they had to cross almost all of the castle to get there, Bloom had enough time to think about everything she might get kicked out for. She had made a grave mistake and would be kicked out of Alfea on her first day. Maybe they thought her a fraud. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

Griselda knocked twice on a huge double door with elaborate floral carvings. The door opened magically and revealed Faragonda, seated behind a big mahogany desk.

"Thank you, Griselda." She nodded, dismissing the head of discipline and Bloom was left alone with the headmistress of Alfea. Faragonda seemed to noticed Bloom's nervousness.   
"You are in no trouble, Bloom. You came to us under special circumstances and there is still a lot to talk about." Bloom exhaled in relief and her shoulders relaxed. So they wouldn't kick her out.

"Please sit down." Fragonda pointed at the chair opposite her. After Bloom sat down she took a moment to admire the view. The window behind Faragonda's desk showed enormous, blue-green coniferous forests that stretched for miles. At dawn, the view must be magical. When the morning mist covered the forest and only the treetops were visible beneath the light of twilight. 

"I have to say, Bloom, your sudden appearance caused quite some fuss."

"Yes," Blom wriggled on about her chair. "Miss Griselda told me something similar." Faragonda nodded. "Then she probably told her that we haven't had any fairies from Earth in centuries, too." She smiled encouragingly. 

"She did," confessed Bloom.

"Then you understand why it's so extraordinary for us to welcome you to Alfea. We thought there were no magical beings left on Earth, but you proved us otherwise. You might now that fairies receive their basic education as soon as their powers manifest. Usually, they are between 8 and 10 years old when that happens." Ah, so there were 8-year-olds who knew more about magic than her. Very encouraging. 

"As you haven't been taught any of those basics, I suggest a tutor. I myself am willing to take that position. I made you a schedule. I don't always have time, unfortunately. Of course, the tutorial is no obligation. If you think yourself capable of learning everything on your own, I won't deter you. I need an answer until tomorrow morning, as I have a lot to play. But you will have the whole day to think about it." Bloom took the schedule Faragonda handed her. The tutorials would take place Monday, Wednesday and Friday, right after the end of classes. It would be a good deal if those days weren't already so damn long and packed with classes. But on the other hand...

"I don't need to think about it until tomorrow," Bloom said, folding the piece of paper. "I would be honored to be tutored by you." She couldn't run to Stella for every single question. Her friend had a private life and had to study for her courses just like Bloom. A tutor was just what she needed. 

Faragonda smiled, pleased by the outcome of this conversation. The headmistress and she talked about some more details. As it turned her scholarship inclouded a credit card that was connected to her scholarship bank account, as well as a library card. 

Bloom took a few liberties to ask Faragonda several trivial questions. She was here now, so she might as well use her time. One question that she had been dying to ask was how she could understand and read everything and everyone in Alfea. Stella had told her about the spell, yes. But she had never cast such a spell on herself. She didn't even know how to.

"That's a spell that covers all of Alfea," Fragagona explained. "Every year we welcome students from all different plants of the magical dimension. All who speak different languages. To make everyone's life easier we cast a spell over the entire school. Unfortunately, it's a very difficult spell that requires powerful magical barriers. That means most public places can't cast this spell. I advise you to learn to cast the simple language spell if you are planning to go to Magix City."

Bloom nodded. She had no idea who to access her powers, let alone cast a spell. But she had known from the start that it wouldn't be easy.

\----

It turned out that her closet was too small. Stella had only unpacked half of her belongings when the closet was already filled. Either the thing had shrunk over the last several months, or she had remembered the size wrong. She sighed. She would have to cram everything into this miniature version of a closet one way or another.

It felt great to be back at Alfea. The palace had become unbearable. These days, all her parents ever did was fight, and the staff tried to ignore it as best as they could. She hated most of the nobles at court, and the few she did like never stayed for long. She couldn't blame them.

She had hoped to meet up with Sky before classes begun, but even though the start of the semester was still several days ahead, Sky already was busy. She really liked him, more than she had liked any guy before. And with him, she could be certain that he didn't just want to date her for her status or wealth. Eraklyon was a lot richer than Solaria. 

Stella had left her door wide open, and when the front door opened and she spied familiar red curls, she dropped the clothes she had been holding on her bed and rushed to Bloom.

"Bloom, thank the great dragon! I was so worried!"That her new friend had been escorted by that witch Griselda on her first day had left Stella deeply disturbed. But to her surprise, Bloom looked...pleased.

"Oh don't worry. It was nothing dramatic or so." Bloom bit her lip. "But I do have to confess that my heart dropped into my pants when Griselda told me that Faragonda wants to speak to me."

"Faragonda?!" This was alarming. Stella had talked to the headmistress about everything regarding Bloom. Had she forgotten something important? Bloom dropped into an armchair. 

"Yes, don't worry. She just wanted to talk to me about a few things. Like my scholarship bank account. And she offered to be my tutor." That sounded reasonable.

"And?!" demanded Stella.

"I said yes! The tutorial will take place 3 times a week, directly after classes ended." Stella was glad to hear that. The tutorial was necessary, and secretly she was glad that she wouldn't be the one to tutor Bloom. Of course, she would always help her friend if she asked, but she also needed her free time.

The door opened, and a girl with a chin long brown bob with purple tips walked in. She wore skinny jeans, a holo jacket, and underneath a white t-shirt. Her blue-green eyes scanned the unfamiliar room nervously.

"Hello, I am Tecna. And I will be living in room 3 of this quarter. Does anyone of you two happen to be Musa Xarat?" The tilted her head like she solving equations in her head. Stella jumped off her armchair.

"No Musa here, but I am Stella and this is Bloom." She gestured towards Bloom. 

"Princess Stella of Solaria?" A new voice asked.

"Depends on who is asking," replied Stella with slight annoyance. She knew what this was about.

"Musa." An eas-Asian looking girl with space buns stepped into the room. She was dressed in shorts and a loose red t-shirt with geometrical embroidery on its shoulders. Headphones were wrapped around her neck. 

"Hey princess? Do us all a favor and tell us before you want to blow something up, okay?" Musa laughed, and even Tecna couldn't fight a smile. Musa put her headphones into the pocket of her jeans and dropped onto the couch. 

"Umn Stella?" Bloom had no idea what Musa was talking about.

Stella bit her lip and wouldn't meet Bloom's eyes. "You remember that incident that I told you about? The reason why I have to re-take the first year? I wanted to practice a bit and confidently blew up one of the laboratories."

"WHAT?"

"Oh come on Bloom. Not you too. It was an accident" Bloom raised an eyebrow.

"A legendary accident!" Musa added. "So, I know the princess, and who are you two?" She looked from Bloom to Tecna.

"Tecna, from Zenith." Tecna was still standing next to the door, unsure whether she should sit down or not. Musa had just opened her mouth to reply when a knock sounded at the door. The group looked at each other. Stella shrugged.

"Come in!" Bloom and Musa had spoken at the same time and Bloom yelled 'jinxed!' and both girls broke into laughter. The door opened once more and Bloom couldn't get around noticing how pretty all these girls were. Tne girl joining them reminded Bloom of an 18-year-old Jennifer Lopez. She wore a strawberry blouse and a simple, white A-line skirt and fitting sandals. But what BLoom had noticed first about her was the giant plant she carried in her arms.

Her green eyes looked around, and when she saw the other girls, a smile appeared on her face.  
"Hello, I am Flora from Linphea. I guess you are my roommates?" She put the plant carefully on the ground and stepped closer to the group. The plant had an odd look to it. It had several thick, blue-green vines and leaves that looked way too much like hands in Bloom's opinion. Its blossom was a pure, snowy white and the strangest thing was that it gave off the impression of as sleeping face. But no, that couldn't be real. Or could it?

Musa jumped off the couch, a smile lighting her face. "Hi, I am Musa from Melody, and those art Princess Stella of Solaria" she gestured towards Stella. "Tecna from Zenith." Tecna gave a short nod. "And...." her brows knitted together, her arm stretched out towards Bloom.

"Bloom," she replied uncomfortably "From Earth."

"WHAT?" Musa, Tecna, and Flora looked equally shocked, and Bloom wished for a hole to open up beneath her and swallow her whole.

"You mean Earth Erath? Planet Earth?" Musa asked, eyes wide.

"Ye..." a scream interrupted her. Flora turned on her heels at once and what she saw was a rabbit eating away at her Ekonia Ionia.

"Kiko!" Bloom rushed to pick the rabbit up. "Flora, I am so sorry about your plant." 

"Oh please don't be." she reached out to Kiko to pet him. "Are you hungry little friend? I've got something for you." She turned to look through her bags and returned shortly after with a flowerpot filled with fresh, black earth and a small bag of seeds. Then she sowed a thin layer of seeds on top and placed her hands above the pot. Moments later small green leaves burst through the earth and quickly grew into big carrots. She plucked the carrots and placed them in front of Kiko, who couldn't seem to believe his luck. 

"Woah." was all Bloom could say. Tecna knelt in front of Flora's plant, eyebrows raised. 

"That's a very interesting plant. I've never seen this species before." She tilted her head closer to the plant as if to get a better look and was about to touch its hand-like leaves when a vine reached out and wrapped around Tecna's nose. Tecna shrieked, pulling the vines from her face and ran to the opposite side of the living room. Flora held a hand to her mouth.

"What the hell?" yelled Stella.

"Oh Tecna, I am so sorry!" She worried her hands and looked like she wanted to run from the room. "This is an Ekonia Ionia. A plant I've created myself. There is still a lot of work to be done until I can go into breeding. You could say the plant doesn't like most people and will attack anyone who dares to come near it." Now Flora was rambling. "I am really sorry, I know I shouldn't have brought it but it's one of my best experiments that earned me my scholarship and..."

"Flora, it's okay." Tecna had recovered from her shock but was eyeing the plant wearily. "I shouldn't have tried to touch it in the first place. Plants like that are just very uncommon on Zenith."

"Hey, what if we unpack our bags, and afterward we could go to Magix City to grab some food and get to know each other?" Musa suggested. "Bloom seems to have one hell of a story to tell."

\- ---

Bloom desperately looked at the menu in front of her and wanted to cry. She couldn't read anything. This was exactly what Faragonda had meant. Magix City was different from all of Bloom's fantasies. It was more of a mix between several versions he had come up with. There were no dragons or witches flying on their broomsticks, but there were different creatures. A few elves like Professor Palladium, several Leprechauns like Wizgiz. But apart from the obviously magical citizens, the magic itself had only been visible at second glance. It was less obvious than BLoom thought it would be, but everything was connected to magic. The cars drove - no, flew - animated by a magical core. Magic opened and closed the doors to stores and boutiques. It was incredible how similar the life in Magix City was to the life on Earth, and yet so different at the same time. here, magic was a constant presence. The heartbeat of this world. 

Stella had chosen a restaurant for them and suggest that they sit outside. BLoom would have preferred to eat inside. Her pale, freckled skin burned so easily. But Stella insisted, and Flora and Musa both were enthusiastic about this suggestion, too. And Bloom and Tecna had been outvoted.

"My computer doesn't like being exposed to solar radiation, and I doubt all of you are all wearing sunscreen."

"The sun is no problem to me." countered Stella.

"No! Who would have thought that the princess of the sun planet had no problems with intense sun radiation!" Even Tecna had to laugh about Musa's comment, and soon laughter filled the entire restaurant. A few heads turned, annoyed. But the girls didn't notice.

Bloom took a deep breath, "I can't read the menu.' she confessed. Everyone fell silent.

"I can read it to you..." Stella suggested, but Bloom shook her head. "Could you just pick something for me? But I don't eat meat, remember?" Stella reading the entire menu to her would take forever, and she didn't want any of the other guests to know that she couldn't read.

"Okay."

"So Bloom," began Flora "you wanted to tell us the story of how you two met." And how a girl from Earth happened to study at Alfea College for Fairies, of course. That was what everyone was thinking.

And so, Bloom and Stella told her roommates the story of how they met. About Knut and how Bloom had come to save Stella. How Bloom's parents didn't believe in magic and that Stella had convinced them otherwise by turning the phone into a carrot. That particular part caused the girls to giggle. And of course about the specialist that had come to help them fight Knut and the troll.

"Ohhh, someone must really like you," teased Musa. "if he comes to your rescue whenever you call. Even in the middle of the night." She raised her eyebrows at Stella, who burst into laughter. 

"I certainly hope so!" Stella seemed to enjoy this conversation a lot. 

"Bloom, you really have to tell us everything about Earth," said Flora. "Since the people from Earth stopped believing in magic, and there were no more fairies born with magical abilities, Magix kind of lost its connection to Earth. We are cut off." Flora swallowed another bite from her meal before she continued. "Do your parents have magical powers, too?" Bloom had known a question about her parents was inevitable. But that didn't make it less awkward.

"Umn, no. I am adopted actually. I don't know who my birth parents are." She took a long sip of her icy cold water. And to be honest, she didn't care who her birth parents were. They didn't want her. That's why you gave a child away, wasn't it? Mike and Vanessa were the best parents anyone could wish for, they were her family, her parents. Even if not by blood.

"Oh that..." stammered Flora, looking at her plate and refusing to meet Bloom's eyes. "I am sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"Please don't be. You couldn't have known. My parents on Earth might not be my parents by blood, but I honestly don't care. I don't care where I come from." At least on the better days, she didn't. But she didn't say that out loud. When she lay awake late at night, she always made up secret backstories for herself. About who her parents might be, why they hadn't wanted her. But then the morning would come and she would look into the loving faces of Mike and Vanessa, and she would wonder why she even cared about the people who had given her away.

The whole talk about her parents made her heart ache, and she decided to call her parents. Here. Now. 

When Bloom took her phone out of her bag, her first thought that she must be suffering a heat stroke. The screen of her phone kept blinking in numerous colors. She tried to turn it off and back on, but nothing happened.

"I think my phone is broke," admitted Bloom. 

"Let me take a look," Tecna reached for Bloom's phone and burst into hysterical laughter. 

"Where did you even get that? That's antiquity." Tears were rolling down her cheeks and Tecna's stomach hurt. She hadn't laughed this hard in a long time.

"Antiquity? But that's the latest version. I had to save up forever to buy it."

Stella gave Bloom a sympathetic look. "On Erath, maybe." At the mention of Erath, Tecna pulled herself back together. 

"I am sorry, I shouldn't have laughed." She downed her whole glass of water because her mouth felt dry as a dessert after all that laughing.

"I should explain to you that my planet, Zenith, is known for its advanced technology. It's the source of all technical magic." That was a fact that Tecna was extremely proud of. Zenith's technological magic was used all over the magical dimension. Even in Linphea, the planet of nature. At first, they had hesitated but eventually seen its merits. Tecna was always proud to have grown up on the most advanced planet in the Magical Dimension.

"Oh right! Stella told me about it when she gave me a crash course!" responded Bloom. "Is there some sort of phone for public use that I can call my parents on earth with?"

"Just around the corner over there should be a phone box." Musa pointed out the direction. A phone box? So her mobile phone was antiquity, but phoneboxes were not? Even on Earth, these things had gone out of fashion. She would never understand this world.

\----

Bloom had no idea what a call to earth would cost her because she couldn't read the information board. So she just put her credit card into the opening, dialed the number for home, and hoped for the best. 

"Peters, hello?" Her mother sounded tired, and Bloom noted with a shock that she had no idea what time it was for them. 

"Mum? It's me."

"Bloom! Darling! I am so happy to hear from you. What's it like at Alfea?" There was a rustling sound, followed by her mother explaining to her dad that is was Bloom she was talking to.

"I really like it so far. I live in a quarter with Stella and three other girls. One of them is my roommate, Flora." And so she went on. Vanessa wanted to know everything about Alfea to calm her nerves. Just as Bloom reassured her mom that classes were only to start in a few days, she noticed something on a crossroads. She would know this huge, hairy back everywhere. The image had burned itself forever into her brain. Knut.

The ogre walked into a small alleyway, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. It was no use. What was he doing here?

"Mum? I am really sorry, but I gotta go now. I promise to call you later, okay?" Vanessa protested, not wanting to end the conversation with her daughter so soon, but Bloom had made up her mind. They said their goodbyes, and Bloom hung up, took her credit card and placed it back into her wallet, without taking her eyes off of Knut for even a second. Three young women had walked towards him. They held themselves with confidence, and their dark clothes and occult jewelry made Bloom shiver. One wore her platinum blonde hair in a tight ponytail, its tips dyed a pale blue. The other two had brown hair, but where one had long, straight hair, the other had wild curls that merely reached her shoulders. Bloom decided to follow them. 

The group had gathered at the end of the alleyway and seemed to talk about something. Bloom was too far away to understand them and dared to get closer. A risk, yes. But she had to know what Knut was up to and who these girls were. How did they know Knut? She'd had enough surprises. AT the thought of Knut and his ghoul army, hot pain shot through her leg. 

Bloom hunkered down behind a group of garbage cans and did her best to ignore the biting smell. "Shit," she whispered. Knut's broad back blocked her view on the girls."Move, asshole. I can't see anything." murmured Bloom. And as if Knut had heard her, he stepped aside and gave Bloom a clear view on the girls.

"And you are sure it was her?" the blonde asked Knut. 

"Yes." His deep voice roared through the alleyway.

"That was about damn time!" This was the one with the short curls. "Let's get this scepter!" Scepter? Like Stella's scepter?

"Did no one teach you that it's rude to meddle in somebody else's affairs?" Bloom startled at the sound of a voice directly behind her, but before she could turn around to see who was standing behind her, she flew across the alleyway. She landed hard on the stony ground. Her body ached in pain, and Bloom was pretty sure that she had broken a wrist trying to catch herself. Then there were suddenly two of the long-haired brunette. How could she have missed the fourth person?

"Well, well. Look what we've got here, sisters. A little spy." the voice of the white-haired one was rotten sweet as she stepped closer to Bloom. The one with the curly hair had a cruel smile on her lips, while the long-haired brunette stood behind Bloom. Bloom had to getaway. Fast. But she was surrounded. This would be a great time for her powers to reappear. She tried to grasp the power within her - the core of her magic - and pulled. 

"Stay away from me!" she yelled and tried to mask the trembling in her voice s best as she could in a situation like this. Bloom held out her palm, and miraculously, small flames shot out of it. "I am a fairy!"

But to Bloom's horror, the girls burst into laughter. She could feel her stomach drop. Shit, shit, shit. 

"Oh how sweet! A little baby fairy! So far from home!" the white-haired one had the cruelest smile on her face that Bloom had ever seen. 

"This is not magic." The curly-haired one yelled, stretching out her arms heavenward. Huge, dark clouds gathered above them. Bloom ran. The long-haired one let her pass without a fight and Bloom was just about to wonder WHY, when a bolt of lightning struck in front of her and she stumbled.

"This!" she heard the witch creating the storm. "Is magic!"

Bloom got back up, but more lightning bots crashed down in front of her.

"You are such a show-off, Stormy..." she heard the brunette complain. The blonde was just watching the show with cold amusement in her blue eyes. It was not the warm blue of Bloom's eyes, the blue of a hot summer day. It was the icy, almost white blue of a blizzard. Cold. Deadly.

She must have decided that she wanted a piece of fairy cake too because at once she started attacking Bloom with icicles the size of a small car. Bloom managed to summon several balls of fire, but against the powerful magic of the ie witch, it was like trying to melt a glacier with a match. It was useless.

Something hit her from behind and she stumbled, scratching her knees and drawing blood. The air around Bloom froze. Bloom could see her own breath and when she tried to get up she noticed that her arms and legs were frozen to the ground. Her heart skipped a beat. Shit. SHIT. This couldn't be the end. Her parents would never forgive themselves for letting her go to a magical dimension of she died her. Now. And oh god, Stella! Stella would blame herself forever, too. 

Panic filled her as the ice spread over her body. She had trouble breathing. Tears filled her eyes. So this was the end. Bloom Peters would die at the age of 18 on her first day of college. Cause of death? Flash-frozen. 

"Before you kick the bucket," the ice witch came closer, the sound of her heels the only sound in the night. "Do you want to tell us where your friends scepter is?" She tilted Bloom's chin with another icicle. To her, Bloom was nothing more than an annoying insect. Nothing of worth. But what did she want with Stella's scepter?

"I am here, bitch!" a blindingly bright burst of lighting followed, and the white-haired witch got tossed across the alleyway. She hit a wall with a loud crash. Bloom's heart beat faster when she caught sight of her friends. How had they known where she was?

The other two witches attacked immediately. Tecna transformed at once and summoned a green energy shield to protect the group. Just in time as lightning came crashing down. Stella used this change to transform as well.

"You stay here," she told her friends, scepter tight in her hand. "I go melt the ice around Bloom!" The white-haired witch had recovered from her flight through the alleyway and started attacking Stella with ice sheets. Her once perfectly polished ponytail was now disheveled and blood ran down her forehead. She was furious. Musa let loose acoustic sound waves and Icy had to dodge, distracting her from Stella. Stella took the chance to flew to Bloom's rescue, but now Darcy had gotten hold of her. Shit. She had to get to Bloom before her friend died of hypothermia. And considering Bloom's purple lips, she didn't have long. Dary's clones had surrounded her and she was caught in a void of Darkness that she couldn't escape. Stella grasped on the core of her powers and let loose a bright blast of light that caused the bubble of darkness to burst, taking Darcy's clones with it. The real Darcy had to dodge if she didn't want to lose her eyesight. 

Stella laned next to Bloom the iceberg and started attacking it with hot light. 

Flora noticed that Stormy was about to attack Stella, who was busy defreezing Bloom, from behind. She reacted at once. Thick, green vines sprung from the ground and wrapped itself around the witch, covering her whole. Flora smiled. Many people underestimated her plant magic, but she knew how strong mother nature was. Stormy screamed in rage and lightning bolts came crashing down, killing Flora's carefully crafted vines. The witch got up and thunder roared in the distance. She looked at Flora with murder in her eyes. Flora dodged lightning strikes while attacking Stormy with her own spells. But then a tornado was coming right towards her and lightning surrounded her. She stumbled and lightning struck her shoulderblade, right next to her wing. She screamed.

Musa and Tecna were surrounded by dozens od Darcy's clones, all of shooting dark matter at them. Tecna was breathing hard and sweat coated her forehead. She didn't know how much longer she could hold up the shield. Musa attacked them with powerful soundwaves, but if one clone went down, another would take its place. It was no use if she couldn't get through to the real things. As long as Darcy remained strong, so did her clones. Musa's powers dwindled with every strike. She had to end this. She had to find the real Darcy. But knowing those witches, Darcy was probably somewhere in the background, safe and sound. 

Stella had to dodge several of Icy's attacks while she unfroze Bloom. She had heard a distant scream, but she could only hope that whoever hat gotten hit, wasn't too badly wounded. She couldn't leave Bloom now. She was almost done. 

The ice finally burst and Bloom dropped to the ground, her arms and legs still too cold to keep her upright. Stella rushed to her friend, shooting another blast of light over her shoulder. Icy flakes covered the ground and the air smelled of blood. The sun had long ago disappeared behind the horizon. Stella had no idea what time it was, but it didn't take much to guess that it was long past curfew. 

She helped Bloom get back up and Bloom put her arm around Stella's neck for support. And Stella couldn't help but notice how similar this situation was to the one just a few days ago. When had been wounded and Bloom had come to rescue her. Life had a bizarre sense of humor. 

When Musa had finally managed to hit the real Darcy, she had made for a run to help Flora. Her friend was in obvious pain and breathing hard. Musa slung Flora's arm around her neck and started walking. They had to get the hell out of here. 

"Stella!" she screamed. Stella, who had a half-conscious Bloom beside her, looked up. "Let's get the hell out of here!"

"Tecna! Get over here!" Stella yelled. It was always harder to teleport when the people she wanted to teleport didn't stand close together. But that wasn't an option right now. Stormy had cut off Tecna with a tornado, and Musa and Flora were being attacked by Darcy. Stella herself had to dodge several attacks from Icy. This would take everything she had, and what she had left wasn't much. Stella raised her scepter and cast the portal spell. 

Again they found themselves in the intermediate space before they landed in one of the coniferous forests surrounding Alfea.

"Umn, Stella?" Musa looked around, panicked. "I thought the plan was to get us to Alfea?" The air was pleasantly cool and the forest smelled of wet earth and pine. 

"That's the best I can do." Stella summoned a small ball of light that would light their way through the dark forests. "Alfea has a protective shield that prevents anyone from teleporting directly into campus. And if my powers are weak, I rarely get the location exactly right. It will always be a bit off." she confessed. Musa frowned but nodded. Her space buns had come loose during the fight and now her black her surrounded her face, reaching her shoulders. 

"How is Flora doing?" Stella asked. When she had seen Fora's wound, she had been close to tears. Next to her, Bloom was about to pass out at any moment. 

"I am fine, don't worry. It's worse than it looks." Fora's face twisted in pain and Stella doubted her words. They would have to get Bloom and Flora to a healer ASAP.

An owl screamed and Tecna startled. "Who were these witches, anyway?" she asked. 

"Icy, Drac,y, and Stormy. Three senior witches from Cloud Tower" explained Stella.

Bloom snored. "Are those their real names?"

"Well, Darcy's name is really Darcy," said Stella. "But Icy's real name is Evelyn and Stormy's birth name is Brynn."

"How do you know all that?" asked Flora with a weak voice.

"That's gossip. They are legendary in Magix."

"And do you know what they wanted?" Musa asked, still upholding Flora. They came across a small stream that glittered in the moonlight. An iridescent flower grew on its littoral. "Beautiful," whispered Flora. Her eyes followed the flower until it was out of sight.

"They said something about Stella's scepter." coughed Bloom. "Knut was there too."

"What?" Stella stopped dead in her track. Her amber eyes were wide with rage. 

"He left soon after the witches started attacking me. I don't know where he went." Bloom brushed a streak of red hair out of her eyes. "I only got into this situation because I followed him." she let out a pained laugh. "I saw him while I was talking to my parents and decided to go after him. I am such an idiot. I am so sorry." Bloom looked absolutely defeated. Stella couldn't stand it.

"No, you are not," Stella assured her. "I too would have followed Knut. I am still angry, too." she shook her head. "It doesn't surprise me that he is working with the three witches. And that they want my scepter even less. Witches are always so power-hungry."

Tecna had cast a location spell that would lead them to Alfea, and now they had reached their destination. Alfea's gates gleamed in the moonlight, and behind them stood Faragonda and Griselda. Griselda's expression was furious and Faragonda's unreadable. Stella cursed. 

"do you have any idea what time..." Griselda broke off, noticing the injuries of the Girls as they came closer. All five of them were covered head to tow in bruises and scratches and there was blood on their clothes. So much blood. Stella was upholding Bloom, and Musa Flora. Faragonda let out a sharp breath. 

"What by the great dragon has happened to you?" Tecna stepped forth, her hands shaking. 

"We were attacked by three witches."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always wondered just how Stella could get attacked by Knut if teleporting only lasts the blink of an eye. Obviously, it can't, and so I made up a little explanation.   
> I always hated Mizi and how she treats Bloom, so I really wanted to include a scene where someone is telling her their opinion about her. And let's be real, season 1 Bloom would never do this herself. In season 2 we are told that Stella has 'clear sight' that helps her to see people's true intentions, so I thought that would work well in this scene. I hope it all makes sene. Thanks for reading!


End file.
